SUNDAY MORNING
Setting: At a train station. It is early morning. There are two benches on the stage. There is a lady (Etienne) poorly dressed sitting on the bench with a book in her hand, legs crossed, sitting very poised. She looks up and down the train tracks before going back to her book. A lady smartly dressed (Pepper) in a power suit and briefcase, hair in a bun walks up across the stage quickly in front the woman sitting, looks at her watch and walks back across and then off stage. Etienne looks up briefly from her book and looks back down. Pepper walks back on stage slowly walking towards Etienne. She stands behind her and looks over her shoulder, getting and closer and closer. Etienne is startled and jumps.

Etienne: Oh my god you scared me to death. (puts her hand to her chest and scoots over on the bench)

Pepper: (stares at Etienne, eyes squinting) You don’t look dead.

Etienne: (looks Pepper up and down) Excuse me.
Pepper: I said dead people can’t speak.

Etienne: Hmmmm, okay. I’m just going to wait over here. (picks up her things and walks over to the other bench and continues to read)

Pepper: (Pepper is thinking to herself hardly aware that Etienne has just moved) At least I’ve never heard a dead person speak. Have you? (she notices that Etienne has moved, drops her briefcase and walks over to where she is sitting, annoyed) I said have you?

Etienne: (jumps again) Good heavens, have I what?
Pepper: Have you heard a dead person speak?

Etienne: Look I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you don’t mind I’d like to just sit and read my book.
Pepper: It’s an oxymoron you know.

Etienne: It’s a what?

Pepper: A dead person speaking…it’s an oxymoron

Etienne: Of course it is dear, now if you’d just…

Pepper: You don’t know what an oxymoron is do you.

Etienne: What I do know is that I’d like to sit and read my book.

Pepper: Maybe it’s in your book.

Etienne: (puzzling look)

Pepper: An oxymoron, maybe we can find an oxymoron in your book. There’s bound to be one. (She sits down and reaches for the book, brushing Etienne’s shoulder) Let me see.

Etienne: (she jumps up off the bench appalled) Don’t touch me! Do not touch me.

Pepper: (she gets up as well) I’m just trying to help. You don’t have to be so mean when I’m only trying to help you. Do you know what it’s like to sit here everyday and see people like you with space floating between their ears. I’m just trying to help you, can’t you see I’m trying to help.
Etienne: (she looks around anxiously) Okay, okay, please calm down. People are staring.

Pepper: Does that bother you?

Etienne: Nobody likes to be stared at.

Pepper: Well that’s a stupid comment.

Etienne: Are you saying I’m stupid.
Pepper: That was a stupid comment as well.

Etienne: I don’t have to listen to this.

Pepper: Smart people have been known to say stupid things, so why would I telling you that you made a stupid comment imply that I thought you were stupid.

Etienne: Your confusing me. I…I just want to read my book. I just…

Pepper: A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Etienne: I just…(she sits down on the bench again, hand to her head)
Pepper: If you had just let me look through your book you would understand. (she takes the book, the other woman looks up puzzled). Well, that’s your problem. (she throws the book back on the bench)

Etienne: My problem? I don’t have a problem…I mean I used…

Pepper: Your reading a romance novel. That’s an oxymoron in itself. (she paces) Society tells us we’re frying our brains watching too much tv and that more people should start reading to get us thinking more, get the “juices flowing” right? So you say to yourself “self, they are absolutely right, you must stop watching so much tv and start reading more” and you go to your local cornerstore with a silly grin on your face and you think “that’s it I’ll buy a book, I’ll fill my head with knowledge and then I’ll be able to carry on conversations with important, smart people and I will live a healthy much more interesting life, Eureka!” you say. So off you go thinking that this is that life altering experience your parents always talked about and everything is going to be different from now, you’ll eat better, you’ll exercise, you’ll help old ladies across the street and take in stray dogs and yes, you’ll buy a book. So you walk over to the library - because god forbid you spend money on this life altering experience - and you close your eyes and pluck a book off the shelf (of course it doesn’t matter what, a book is a book, right?) and that book has a little red heart on it…how cute. Do you know what that book is? Well, do you?

Etienne: (she snaps out of a trance-like gaze at the sudden question and looks down at the book, picks it up and looks back up at Etienne)

Pepper: (disgusted, folds her arms and turns away) You’re all the same.

Etienne: Excuse me.

Pepper: I was wrong. That’s not an oxymoron at all. What was I thinking. It’s pure irony. Irony, that’s what it is. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.

Etienne: I don’t have to make excuses for myself. I don’t have to explain anything to you. I just thought it would make me feel good, am I not aloud to feel good. You look at me like…like…

Pepper: Like you’ve been living in a chocolate shell, melting into this sickeningly sweet coating. You’ve been making excuses for yourself since I met you.

Etienne: I wait for my train every week. I wait here and I don’t bother anyone. I try to be good. I try but you never let me.

Pepper: Why won’t you say it. (she stomps away angry)
Etienne: What do you want me to say?

Pepper: (mumbles mockingly) What do I want you to say. Why don’t you tell me exactly what your thinking. What are you afraid of? Why are you here on this earth taking up precious space if you aren’t going to tell me exactly what you’re thinking.
Etienne: (stares at Pepper for a while with a furrowed brow and she looks away, guiltily and starts to pack up her things…things are falling on the floor as she hurriedly tries to pick them up. She is crying)

Pepper: Where do you think you’re going? (she looms over Etienne)

A man walks on the stage with a broom whistling and sweeping up around him. He spots the women and walks over to them.

Man: Excuse me, are you waiting for the train?

Pepper: Are you?

Man: No ma’am, I’m just the caretaker here. Actually, I don’t wait for anyone or anything, a waste of time if you ask me.

Pepper: You just may be right sir.

Etienne: (she gets up from her crouching position, hands full, spilling over) Excuse me sir, when is the next train coming in…it seems like I’ve been waiting forever.

Pepper: (starts laughing hysterically)

Etienne: What are you laughing at? Are you laughing at me? Am I a joke? Is that what I am?

Pepper: Please sir, tell this lady why I’m laughing.

Man: (he looks at Etienne confused, he bows his head and says nothing)

Pepper: Is there a train coming in today sir?

Man: (speaking to Etienne) I’m sorry ma’am but there’s no service at this station on Sunday. I hate to think you’ve been waiting here for nothing…time is a terrible thing to waste. There’s so little of it left.

Pepper: You needn’t worry sir, Etienne’s been waiting her whole life, she’s quite used to it by now.

Man: (he looks her up and down and shakes her his head) Good day ma’am. (still shaking his head as he walks away sweeping…they watch him go)

Etienne: Why’d you have to tell him that? Why’d you have to embarrass me?

Pepper: Etienne, why are you here?

Etienne: I’m waiting for my train. It has to come. I couldn’t have been waiting here, all this time for nothing.

Pepper: You’d be better off laying on those train tracks, you know. Perhaps doing so would give you some sort of direction.

Etienne: Maybe your better off laying on those tracks, Pepper. Maybe you should be down there at my feet.

Pepper: That’s the smartest thing I’ve heard you say today, my dear. That’s exactly where I belong, but where do you belong…where do you want to go, today?

Etienne: (walks towards front of stage, looks off into audience) I remember how exciting it was at the thought of going somewhere. That sort of ache in the pit of your stomach just waiting to be satisfied. I would spend hours getting ready. I would lay out my red dress, do you remember that red dress Pepper, with the lace sleeves and swivel skirt; I would lay it out on the bed while I did my hair and make-up…(Pepper comes behind her and puts her hands on her shoulder…after few seconds she shakes those hands off) It will come…my train will come and it will be better.

Pepper: Was it better last week? The week before? Will it be better next week?

Etienne: (looks despairingly at Pepper)

Pepper: I can’t save you this time Etienne. I can’t stay in this place anymore. You have to at least understand that. (pauses) You make me laugh, though, you and your silly ways.

Etienne: (looks off into space) There nothing left, then. There’s nothing I can do if you aren’t here to help me.

Pepper: I’ve tried to help you, dear. I’ve walked through the rain and the sleet, the snow and dry heat. I drank your tears, as bitter and sour as they tasted, I’ve swallowed them all. I’ve done nothing but cater to your every need, desperately trying to make you understand, but you won’t let yourself understand me.

Etienne: It’s this hole I’m in Pepper. I try to climb out, I try to push my way to light but its no use I keep falling back in. And now…now I’m too tired to try again. Can’t you see I’m tired? I’m so tired Pepper. (she drops her things on the floor and walks to the front of the stage.)

Pepper: I have to go. (she picks up her briefcase, fixes her suit, walks over to Etienne and whispers in her ear) You’ve wasted your time and you’ve wasted mine…and now there’s hardly any of it left…certainly not enough for the both of us. (turns around and leaves)

Etienne turns around and watches Pepper leave. She looks up the tracks and down the tracks, finally she steps on to the tracks and lays down.

10/07/2003

Posted on 10/07/2003
Copyright © 2024 Ginette T Belle